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Bow
/ | special = None | item_ranged = | item_defense = | item_mana = | item_enchantments = | artifact_ranged = | artifact_defense = | artifact_to_hit = | artifact_mana = | artifact_enchantments = }} :This article is about the Magical Item type called "Bow". For the icons representing attack strength, see Ranged Attack. A Bow is a type of Magical Item which can be equipped on any Hero possessing an appropriate slot. The bonuses on the Bow will enhance that Hero's performance, particularly his/her Ranged Attack. As with any Magical Item, Bows can have a total mix of up to 4 different bonuses and/or Item Powers. Bows can generally take very powerful bonuses compared to other weapons, but they only improve the Hero's , which has strong advantages but also strong disadvantages. Any Hero who can use a Bow can switch to a melee weapon, but not during combat! Bows can receive Item Powers that alter the Hero's Ranged Attack, making it more dangerous in one way or another. Very few Bows will alter a Hero's Melee Attack or other attack types (if he/she has any at all), and that is always thanks to specific Item Powers. Description The Bow is a type of ancient hunting weapon that has similar lethality in combat. Its purpose is to launch a long, thin projectile - an arrow or bolt - into an enemy target some distance away. The speed and pointy tip of the arrow concentrate its impact on a tiny spot, allowing it to plunge straight into the target - causing damage to internal organs. Some bows, particularly crossbows, launch their projectiles with such force that they can even pierce through armor. Strong bowmen with strong bows can kill an armored combatant from quite some distance! In Master of Magic the bow is a common weapon, but is most dangerous in the hands of a trained Hero. It can allow the Hero to pick off enemy targets - even powerful monsters - quite easily, before they close in for melee combat. The Basic Item The Bow is one of many possible Magical Item types in Master of Magic. Magical Items can be Crafted by a wizard (tailored to the specific needs of a Hero under the wizard's employ), or found as rewards for defeating a suitably-dangerous Encounter (in which case the item already has a set of pre-defined bonuses). Any Bow can be equipped on a Hero, if said Hero possesses an appropriate weapon slot. Bows can only fit into the following slot: : Bow Slot Only a few Heroes possess a Bow Slot. They all have a , which is the primary attribute that will benefit from the Bow's bonuses. Heroes that do not possess this slot may never be equipped with a Bow. Note that the Bow Slot also accepts any melee weapon, allowing Bow-wielding Heroes to choose the correct weapon for an upcoming battle - but they cannot switch weapons during the battle. Any additional attack strength bonuses on a Bow will only apply to the Hero's . Any Item Powers imbued into a Bow that directly alter the Hero's attack, such as adding Special Damage to it, also apply only to the Hero's Ranged Attack. A few Item Powers, however, have a complex effect that can end up altering the Hero's other attacks, if he/she has any. Crafting a Bow It is possible to create a new Bow (like any other Magical Item) using the Item Crafting process. This is initiated by casting either the Enchant Item spell or the Create Artifact spell, though there are differences in the potential strength of the new Bow depending on which spell is chosen. During Item Crafting it is possible to select a Bow as the type of Magical Item being created. This sets the default cost of casting the item-crafting spell to . Once the Bow is selected, the Item Crafting menu will show all bonuses and Item Powers that can be imbued into it. Click the desired options to add them to the weapon, or click a selected option to remove it. Regardless of which item-crafting spell was selected, a Bow can only take up to 4 different bonuses and/or Item Powers - just like any other item in the game. Each additional bonus will increases the value of the item by a set amount. The more powerful the bonus or enchantment, the more it raises the item's value (see list below). An item with higher value costs more to create, and thus may take more than one turn to complete. Enchant Item The Enchant Item spell limits the strength of the bonuses that can be imbued into a Bow, and also the types of Item Powers that can be added to it. Available Bonuses Available Item Powers Create Artifact The Create Artifact spell allows Bows to be imbued with much more powerful bonuses and/or Item Powers. Certain limitations still apply, based mainly on the type and number of Spellbooks you possess, and the amount of you wish to spend on creating the item. Note that the potential bonuses that can be placed on a Bow using this spell exceed those of any single melee weapon type (Swords, Maces and Axes). In other words, a Bow can be stronger than any of these, potentially. However, since there's a limit on the number of s that a Hero can perform in each battle, as well as distance penalties to consider, the Bow may or may not actually perform better than a good melee weapon. It simply depends on a lot of other factors. Always remember that a Bow-wielding Hero may hold any melee weapon instead - with various possible results for good or for bad. Available Bonuses Available Item Powers Acquiring a Pre-Defined Bow The game data files contain 250 items that were designed by Simtex - each with its own pre-set name, bonuses and/or Item Powers. 25 of these items are Bows. There are three different ways by which you can acquire one of these pre-defined Bows: * By winning a difficult Encounter. * By purchasing it from a traveling Item Merchant. * As result of a random Event called "The Gift". It is often better to acquire items in this way, as it means you do not need to spend any time or to create them. However, since the offered item is chosen at random, and since all 250 items have pre-defined bonuses and enchantments, you may or may not receive an item that's really suitable to your needs. Furthermore, many of the pre-defined items possess Item Powers that cannot legally be added to them via Item Crafting. Bows as Treasure Whenever an Encounter zone of sufficient difficulty level is cleared of its initial defenders, the winning army may receive a Bow (or any other Magical Item) as a reward. The game may select (at random) any item whose total value does not exceed the remaining treasure points given by the Encounter. Thus, the more difficult the Encounter, the more potential there is to receive a high-value item. If the selected item's value is significantly lower than the remaining treasure points, the game will try to select additional rewards (possibly more items). Bows from Item Merchants Item Merchants have a certain chance to appear at the start of any overland turn. This chance is primarily influenced by the wizard's current score. When the roll dictates that a Merchant should appear, the game selects an item at random from the entire list of all 250 pre-set items. Item Merchants will only offer the selected item if the wizard has 3 times as much as the value of the item itself. Charismatic wizards need only 1.5 times as much as the item's value, since they pay half-price for any item. If you lack sufficient Gold at the start of the turn, the Item Merchant will simply not appear this turn. Bows as Gifts Finally, an Event called "The Gift" may occur at random at the start of any overland turn, bestowing a Bow (or any other Magical Item) to your wizard, for no cost whatsoever. This event can choose any of the 250 pre-defined items, including any of the 25 available Bows. List of Pre-Defined Bows Below is a list of each Bow present in the default game-data files. The ItemMake program which is supplied with the game allows users to alter the list of pre-set items at will: you can change any of these items (within the same constraints as those of a Create Artifact spell), add new ones, or remove existing ones from the list. Therefore the list below may or may not match your game-files. Category:Magical Items Category:Bows